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USS Olympia hosts historic re-enactors this weekend

September 2, 2011

The USS Olympia will soon be changing hands. Thursday marked the deadline for proposals to acquire the historic cruiser, and by 2013, tourists may no longer get to step aboard. They still can this weekend, though–and they won’t be alone. Historic re-enactors will be there, too. “They take over every part of she ship,” said Hope Corse, spokeswoman for the Independence Seaport Museum. “They could be swabbing the decks. They could be going through the engine room, they’re going to be doing simulations of cannon fire.” The USS Olympia was active in the Spanish American War and World War I, from 1892 through 1920. The actors will stay on the boat for the duration of the weekend–working and sleeping as they would have all those years ago. However, they won’t be using the galley. “They had these beautiful copper pots, but they lined them with lead,” said Corse. “At the time, they didn’t understand that lead wasn’t good to eat, so you have these beautiful pots, but you wouldn’t want to eat out of them knowing what we know today.” Tours run from Saturday through Monday.